Dejan Kovacevic has a small update on the off-season plans for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He mentions that there’s money to spend, and that he hears the top priority is a starting pitcher. Last week I pointed out that the Pirates have $7-10 M to spend. I also mentioned that the Pirates need another starting pitcher, due to the injury concerns that surround Erik Bedard, plus the general uncertainty with pitchers.
The ideal player would be Edwin Jackson, assuming he was affordable. There hasn’t been much of a market for him this off-season, which is kind of consistent with the interest shown towards the right hander throughout his career. Other available options include Paul Maholm, Jeff Francis, and Wei-Yin Chen from the Japanese league. The Pirates have shown interest in those three pitchers this off-season, although no interest in Jackson has been reported.
